Walk into any big-box store's cookware aisle, or scroll an Amazon search for nonstick pans, and speckled gray-and-black cookware is everywhere. It's marketed as granite, granite stone, marble, or simply "stone," and over the past few years it's become one of the most popular nonstick categories in American kitchens. Part of the appeal is obvious — it looks sturdier than a plain black nonstick pan, promises easy release, and carries an implied durability that basic coatings don't always deliver. But the name raises a fair question most listings never really answer: is there actual stone in this pan, or is "stone" describing something else entirely?